The Nobel Peace Prize: A Checkered Past
A rarely publicized fact is that one of humanity’s greatest warmongers, Adolf Hitler, and arguably his greatest facilitator, Neville Chamberlain, were both nominated for the prize in 1939. Soon afterward, the two played central — albeit very different — roles in precipitating the bloodiest war ever in the history of mankind.
Another odd — albeit less drastic — event was the decision to award the peace prize to President Barack Obama, who had done precisely nothing to win the prestigious prize, having been in office only eight months in office when it was awarded. Indeed, Obama went on to become the first two-term president ever to have the U.S. embroiled in war for all eight years of his presidency. During his tenure, Obama launched military strikes against seven countries and, according to U.S. intelligence sources, created the potential of an armed clash with China and Russia “for the first time in decades.”
But if granting the prize to Obama for next to nothing seems perplexing, conferring it on Yasser Arafat for co-signing the calamitous Oslo Accords was positively perverse. After all, the Palestine Liberation Organization chairman maliciously misled his interlocutors, plunging his own people, never mind Israel, into decades of misery and mayhem, with his selection as a prospective Nobel laureate bringing disrepute to the lofty institution.
No Francis of Assisi
Some might see echoes of the self-same “incongruity” in the recent nomination of Russian-Armenian billionaire Ruben Vardanyan.
Indeed, it appears that Vardanyan, despite his purported record of humanitarian activities, is no Francis of Assisi. His biography, which could charitably be characterized as “checkered,” includes significant portions that are undeniably “murky.”
Born in Armenia in 1968, Vardanyan moved to Russia to attend Moscow State University, graduating in economics in 1992. Later he trained and studied at several preeminent financial institutions in Europe and America. Following graduation, Vardanyan became heavily involved in the Russian financial sector, co-founding a profitable investment bank, Troika Dialog, and amassing a family fortune estimated at over $1 billion.
Vardanyan was also active in politics, using his business activities to enhance his influence. Indeed, during the years 2005-2022, through far-reaching ties with the Kremlin, he attained positions typically accessible only to individuals within the Kremlin’s inner circle. According to several sources, his close ties to the Russian president earned him the nickname “Putin’s wallet.”
Disconcerting, Discordant Reports
As time passed, disconcerting reports began to emerge regarding the underlying nature of Vardanyan’s commercial enterprises — jarringly discordant with what one would presumably associate with a worthy Nobel Prize candidate.
In March 2019, the Organized Crime and Corruption Reporting Project (OCCRP) issued a report indicating that Vardanyan’s financial organization was at the center of a billion-dollar money-laundering scheme, allegedly using a network of offshore companies and his Armenian contacts, as a hub for “dubious” financial activities. According to the OCCRP, the scheme allowed clients to channel money out of Russia, conceal assets abroad, and launder money. Likewise, it provided cash to Putin associates and connected oligarchs, while enabling masking of the illicit origins of their cash.
Following the OCCRP reports, over 20 members of the European Parliament across seven EU-member countries urged the president of the European Commission to investigate Vardanyan, who allegedly, had amassed huge wealth through companies under Western sanctions.
Vardanyan has also been a staunch supporter of Putin’s Ukraine invasion. This led to his inclusion in the Ukrainian government’s list of sanctioned individuals, due to his companies role in supporting Russian logistical war efforts.
“Parachuted by Putin”
In January 2022, Vardanyan was listed as an individual that the Biden-administration was considering placing under sanctions in legislation, known as the Putin Accountability Act.
That year, in a move widely seen as a measure to avoid Western sanctions, he renounced his Russian citizenship — reportedly with Putin’s approval — and relocated, as an Armenian citizen, to the then-disputed Armenian-held territory of Nagorno-Karabakh (aka Artsakh). According to several sources, he was “parachuted” into the territory by Putin to increase Russian influence in the Caucasus. Indeed, despite previous denials of having any political ambitions, he was swiftly appointed first minister of the Artsakh territory — only to be removed after four months in office, mainly at the insistence of Azerbaijan. Indeed, while in office, rather than promoting peaceful compromise and coexistence with Azerbaijan, Vardanyan’s actions have been described as “fan[ning] the flames of discord and hostility in the region” — somewhat inappropriate for a potential Nobel Peace laureate.
Finally, an assessment of Vardanyan’s worldview cannot be complete without mentioning his warm ties with the terror-promoting Iranian regime. Ironically, recent Iranian peace laureates were awarded the prize precisely for opposing this brutal regime.
Presently, Vardanyan is incarcerated in Baku, on charges of financing terrorism and other offenses, having been detained by the Azeri authorities in September 2023 while trying to flee the former Artsakh enclave after its takeover by Azeri forces.
Sinwar as Next Peace Laureate?
Although a swirl of claims and counterclaims shroud the Vardanyan episode, it is clear that his nomination for the Nobel Peace Prize has raised much indignation and alarm as to the criteria that merit such candidacy. Given the current international climate, one might be excused for raising concerns that one of the next nominees may well be Hamas butcher Yehya Sinwar.
Martin Shermanspent seven years in operational capacities in the Israeli defense establishment. He is the founder of the Israel Institute for Strategic Studies (IISS), a member of the Habithonistim-Israel Defense & Security Forum (IDSF) research team, and a participant in the Israel Victory Project.
